Copyright Notice: This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. Copyright © 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

See also: Fundamental Constitutions.

The Concessions and Agreement was a document issued by the Lords Proprietors of Carolina on 7 Jan. 1665 to a group of Barbadian planters represented by Maj. William Yeamans. Although the Barbadians intended to settle in the Cape Fear region, the Concessions and Agreement applied to Carolina in its entirety. As such, it was Carolina's first written constitution. The Concessions and Agreement also provided for a method of land distribution and guaranteed settlers freedom of conscience in religion.

From the existing records, it appears that some aspects of the Concessions and Agreement were operative by mid-1665. The document remained in effect until early 1672, when it was superseded by the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina.

Reference:

Mattie Erma Edwards Parker, ed., North Carolina Charters and Constitutions, 1578-1698 (1963).

Additional Resources:

Concessions and Agreements, DocSouth: https://docsouth.unc.edu/csr/index.html/document/csr01-0036

Citation

Paden, John. "Concessions and Agreement." NCpedia. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. Accessed on December 12th, 2024. http://ncpedia-02.dcs.mcnc.org/concessions-and-agreement.